\u201cFree agency was pretty unique for us this year. Pretty much every position that you looked across the board, our free agents were top targets. It was a challenge managing who would we get back and who we would be able to offer. You have a salary cap to use, and we\u2019re not saving money for down the road,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a game plan going in, but you don\u2019t really know how it\u2019s going to go until you start talking with the players\u2019 representatives. We had quite a few guys on the roster at the end of the year due to injuries and whatnot. We had an abnormal number of free agents because we had a lot of guys on the roster at the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite being able to retain many starters, there were some key contributors who left Riderville. Every CFL franchise has a limit to what can be spent on players, $6,280,514 per team in 2026, which means not everyone\u2019s full value can be met. Among others, see the checklist below, Malik Carney<\/a> and A.J. Allen signed big money contracts with Edmonton and Ottawa, while Jake Maier went to the nation\u2019s capital as the highest-paid backup QB<\/a> in the league. West Final hero Tommy Nield was given a large raise<\/a> as was Habakkuk Baldonado<\/a>. Defensive stalwart C.J. Reavis<\/a> was a salary cap casualty.<\/p>\n \u201cOur players were sought after. I assume everyone wanted to be back, but it also had to match financially. Some of those decisions were made for financial purposes. We did have some players that left money on the table with other teams that decided they wanted to come back and try to win back-to-back Grey Cups,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey took less than what they could have got with other teams. There\u2019s other guys that are at different points of their careers where they\u2019re ascending, and you don\u2019t fault them. Everyone\u2019s in a different chair for what they want. Some guys, it was important to be back on the team, some guys are looking at it from a financial aspect \u2014 I totally understand both sides of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Green and White added return specialist James Letcher Jr.<\/a> in free agency, along with veteran defensive end James Vaughters<\/a>, American linebacker Josh Woods<\/a>, and Global linebacker Tyron Vrede<\/a>. That\u2019s 33 new contracts, not to mention the entry-level agreements the Riders have finalized with past draft picks and incoming rookie Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year, there\u2019s positions that we\u2019re going to be younger at; they\u2019re players that most people haven\u2019t heard of yet, and they\u2019re going to battle it out in camp. We\u2019ll have multiple positions that are battling,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the keys to us having success last year was the depth that we had. You can see it when you have so many guys that are signing with other teams and so many that you can bring back.\u201d<\/p>\n When you look at the team\u2019s depth chart following free agency, it\u2019s easy to spot what positions will be up for grabs in legitimate competitions.<\/p>\n Antoine Brooks Jr. played so well that it caused the team to move forward with him at strong-side linebacker. His minimum rookie salary played a role, but the 27-year-old seems to have more upside than he displayed last year when he registered 21 defensive tackles, nine special teams stops, two sacks, and two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.<\/p>\n \u201cAntoine Brooks has earned his opportunity to be a starter in this league. Every time he\u2019s gotten an opportunity, he\u2019s done great things. He makes plays every day at practice. He\u2019s going to get his shot to play SAM,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n After Allen signed a contract to become the highest-paid linebacker in the Canadian Football League<\/a>, Saskatchewan has a starting spot at weak-side linebacker to fill. Aubrey Miller Jr.<\/a> and Woods appear to be the favourites, but it could be a national spot if Nick Wiebe or Seth Hundeby earn the role.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done a decent job with our ratio, so we have some flexibility with A.J. moving on. We can actually continue to use that as a Canadian spot, or we can go American,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n \u201cAubrey Miller got an opportunity to play a little bit last year and did well, so we\u2019re happy to get him back. We\u2019ve signed Josh Woods, who has a lot of experience and has a lot of length. We\u2019re excited about the linebackers; I know everyone\u2019s probably worried about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Up front, the Roughriders have to find at least one defensive end who can start and ideally two that prove capable enough to be involved in Corey Mace\u2019s defensive line rotation. Mace routinely dressed seven, eight or nine defensive linemen in 2025. Aaron Patrick, who dressed at defensive end in the 112th Grey Cup alongside Carney and Baldonado, could earn the first chance with the first-team defence.<\/p>\n Flipping over to the offensive line, the left guard spot should have some fierce competition. Daniel Johnson seems to have the most upside, but Zack Fry has been steady when called upon and can fill in at centre if required.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll probably have another offensive lineman that will be an open position,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n The Riders are looking for one American receiver to grab a starting job. With Dohnte Meyers signing an NFL contract<\/a>, Joe Robustelli leaving for Edmonton<\/a>, and the team not re-signing Shawn Bane Jr.<\/a>, there\u2019s a job opening with some intriguing talent from various levels in the United States signed to compete: former NFLers, players from big-time NCAA Division I programs who have flashed here and there, along with small school athletes such as Collin Brunstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done a decent job with our ratio, so we have some flexibility with A.J. moving on. We can actually continue to use that as a Canadian spot, or we can go American,\u201d O\u2019Day said.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo years ago, everyone was in here asking who KeeSean [Johnson] and Dohnte Myers were. Then all of a sudden, you can\u2019t lose those guys. It does have some consideration when you\u2019re looking at a proven guy in our league versus a guy that\u2019s stepping in. We have a pretty veteran receiver core, so for us to try to find one is not too big of a task.\u201d<\/p>\n Is it May yet? Let\u2019s keep a close watch to see how the battles shakedown in training camp.<\/p>\n Saskatchewan Roughriders 2026 CFL free agency checklist<\/p>\n Re-signed:<\/p>\n QB Trevor Harris (A) Re-signed from practice roster:<\/p>\n REC Siaosi Mariner (A) Signed in free agency:<\/p>\n DL James Vaughters (A) Not re-signed:<\/p>\n QB Jake Maier (A) \u2014 signed with Ottawa Redblacks![\"riders-preseason-defensive-depth-chart-2026\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/riders-preseason-defensive-depth-chart-2026.png;w=960.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"riders-preseason-offensive-depth-chart-2026\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/riders-preseason-offensive-depth-chart-2026.png;w=960.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
QB Jack Coan (A)
QB Tommy Stevens (A)
RB A.J. Ouellette (A)
RB Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (N)
FB Albert Awachie (N)
REC KeeSean Johnson (A)
REC Samuel Emilus (N)
REC Kian Schaffer-Baker (N)
OL Jermarcus Hardrick (A)
OL Jacob Brammer (A)
DL Mike Rose (A)
DL Caleb Sanders (A)
DL Lake Korte-Moore (N)
DL Benoit Marion (N)
LB Aubrey Miller Jr. (A)
DB Tevaughn Campbell (N)
DB DaMarcus Fields (A)
DB Nelson Lokombo (N)
DB Jaxon Ford (N)
DB Jayden Dalke (N)
DB Kerfalla Exume (N)<\/p>\n
REC D\u2019Sean Mimbs (N)
OL Darius Washington (A)
DL Chico Bennett Jr. (A)
DL Sylvain Yondjouen (G)
DL Kendy Charles (A)
K Michael Hughes (A)<\/p>\n
LB Josh Woods (A)
LB Tyron Vrede (G)
RET James Letcher Jr. (A)<\/p>\n
RB Ka\u2019Deem Carey (A) \u2014 retired
REC Dohnte Meyers (A) \u2014 signed with Cincinnati Bengals
REC Tommy Nield (N) \u2014 signed with Winnipeg Blue Bombers
REC Joe Robustelli (A) \u2014 signed with Edmonton Elks
REC Shawn Bane Jr. (A) \u2014 free agent
REC Mitch Picton (N) \u2014 retired
OL Trevon Tate (A) \u2014 free agent
OL Sean McEwen (N) \u2014 free agent
OL Philippe Gagnon (N) \u2014 free agent
OL Braydon Noll (N) \u2014 signed with Montreal Alouettes
OL Noah Zerr (N) \u2014 free agent
DL Malik Carney (A) \u2014 signed with Edmonton Elks
DL Shane Ray (A) \u2014 retired
DL Habakkuk Baldonado (G) \u2014 signed with Ottawa Redblacks
DL Micah Johnson (A) \u2014 retired
DL Charbel Dabire (N) \u2014 signed with Hamilton Tiger-Cats
LB A.J. Allen (N) \u2014 signed with Ottawa Redblacks
LB C.J. Avery (A) \u2014 free agent
DB C.J. Reavis (A) \u2014 signed with Ottawa Redblacks
LS Jorgen Hus (N) \u2014 free agent
RET Mario Alford (A) \u2014 signed with Hamilton Tiger-Cats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been vocal about the team\u2019s stated goal to repeat as Grey Cup champions in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,4404,4398,1893,4397,4402,4401,4400,4399,82,4403],"class_list":["post-479491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-country","tag-country-music","tag-radio","tag-regina-news","tag-reigna-pats","tag-rider-radio","tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-saskatchewan-sports","tag-sports","tag-sportscage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}